In a recent Sunday Talk Richard addressed the danger that philosophical extremes could become an obstacle to yoga. That was the cue for many of us to smugly re-settle on our cushions and kind of zone out, knowing we were out of danger from having that happen to us. First of all, how many of us there that night were actually philosophers to begin with? And secondly,having done yoga for years, we were all pretty well versed in the problems extremism can produce. Like a fist fight between yogis over who’s is the real guru, or a blown out meniscus from a premature and “extreme” attempt at padmasana.No doubt about it, the practice has taught us day in and day out to balance inward spiral with outward spin, as we move from pose to counter pose and gradually absorb the intricacies of interrelated philosophical perspectives. No danger of extremism here.But then he sprang it on us. Like it or not, we’re all philosophers! And given the nature of mind, all philosophers are in danger of becoming extremists if they stop thinking clearly for even an instant. Thinking clearly means never allowing one’s perceptions to be clouded by preconceptions or lack of consciousness….like zoning out in a lecture. Oops! Zoning back in we learned how yoga can be the antidote to sloppy or extreme views in philosophy. This is because, done well, yoga becomes the counteraction to thinking. Not the destroyer, nor the opposite—such as sleeping or zoning out—but the compliment. To a good philosopher, yoga is a great salvation because it allows them to stop thinking. Through yoga we practice the skill of clear perception, watching whatever is arising without holding onto it and without rejecting it. Through extreme philosophy we stop watching what’s arising because we already have an opinion of it that’s set in stone.It’s important to draw conclusions from our perceptions—to philosophize. But it’s equally important to drop the conclusions, re-examine, re-evaluate and re-conclude. Yoga is to draw a circle and erase it, then to draw a circle and erase it…
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